Trail of Tears Cherokee Nation

In the history of the U.S., Cherokee has sovereign right over their lands with the support and protection of the U.S. Government. All this changed when Andrew Jackson became President and gave his support to Georgia, who claimed sovereignty over the Cherokee lands. Two years after Jackson was elected the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed by the President. Westward expansion and the discovery of gold made the Cherokee lands valuable to white settlers. The Cherokee Nation fought Jackson’s actions in the Supreme Court and won, but in 1835 the Treaty Part signed the Treaty of New Echota that sold the Cherokee lands to the U.S. government. The leader of this small faction of men was led by Major John Ridge. It is this action which author John Ehle feels opened the door for Indian removal during the infamous Trail of Tears: “The two struggles the Cherokees during Ridge’s long lifetime were their effort to protect their territory from the intrusion of white settlers and their attempt to adapt their culture in order to meet the appeals and pressures of the cultures of the white” (6-7). Even though they would achieve the latter, they were treated no better than tribes who did not adapt their cultures.

In his book Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation, Ehle provides a story-like account of the events leading up to the Trail of Tears, during which 1000s of Cherokee were forced to march

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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page)

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